They Called You So Its Your Deal To Lose

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

I can't express what a wonderful gift it is to receive an inbound inquiry.

I just got a good one, today, while I was having another 12 hour day, and I couldn't get back to it, until after hours, Central time.

Still, I made a point to call, to leave a voice mail saying thank you for thinking of me, here's my email address if you like, my cell number, and by the way, I'll call you if you don't call me, and THANKS!

Inbound inquiries are precious, and it's too easy to become spoiled by them, thinking they'll last forever. For instance during the heyday of certain best-sellers I wrote, I'd get, on average two inquiries a day from readers interested in buying my tapes and seminars.

From a selling point of view, these were walk-ins, lay downs, fish in barrels, people who were so thrilled with what they read that they were pre-sold on my other products. And I thought these easy-peasy sales would go on, indefinitely. Of course, they trickled off, bolstered only when I wrote and had published even more books.

What I'm saying here is this: Never, ever underestimate the value of people who contact you; in essence, folks that beg to be sold.

Stop everything you're doing, and celebrate them!

If you do outbound cold calling you know that it takes a huge number of no's before you rack up any yeses.

With inbound leads, it's the other way around. The great majority should be converted into sales.

If your closing percentages aren't high, get some training.

Given how much it costs to just make that phone ring, through conventional advertising, you're missing a huge bet if you don't get super sharp converting these prospects into customers.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com